Missing Michigan Doctor Found Dead in Frozen Pond Near His Home

Divers discovered the body of a missing Michigan doctor after searching a frozen pond near his home Tuesday.

After he was reported missing on Christmas Eve, Blackman-Leoni Public Safety posted on Facebook that Dr. Bolek Payan has yet to be seen since he left the Henry Ford Allegiance Health hospital in Jackson on Thursday.

His vehicle was discovered at his house, but he had not been seen or heard from again. Authorities said Tuesday that Payan was seen walking out from his house on foot in the mid-afternoon of December 22 after detectives gained access to his encrypted home security system.

According to NBC News, authorities used K-9 units and drones to search the area, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The Jackson County Dive Team drilled holes in the ice covering a pond on Payan's property to search the waters where they found the body of the missing doctor.

Due to the weather on the day Payan left his home and the fact that he was in the water, authorities believe he would have been dead before he was reported missing, Blackman-Leoni Public Safety said.

Michigan Doctor Bolek Payan Goes Missing

Bolek Payan's family went to Jackson County to be with him for the holidays. But when they got there, they only found his truck and could not find him anywhere.

Since leaving the hospital on December 22, no one had seen or heard from him. Nicole Keiser, a family friend, said that what happened was not like him.

Keiser said Payan left his dogs at 8 a.m. on Thursday. She noted that Payan was supposed to pick the dogs up at 6:30 that night and that he had already fed them, The Sun reported.

"So for his truck to be here without coming to the house to pick up the dogs, that would be out of character. Something happened, and I don't know what," she said.

The missing Michigan doctor's family has filed a missing person investigation to try and locate him.

"Obviously, with the weather and things like that, its kind of slowed things down, but now we're kind of amping things back up," said Sergeant Steve Stowe.

Stowe previously noted that they have dogs and will use all measures to find the Michigan doctor.

Missing Michigan Doctor Remembered as a Good Neighbor, Dedicated Psychiatrist

Jenny Fordyce, Bolek Payan's friend and neighbor, said the doctor was an only child who grew up in Chicago and then relocated to Michigan.

She noted that the doctor moved there last winter, so they did not know him for long, but he was a great guy overall.

She added that Payan gave her a Christmas card a few days before he disappeared, and she could not believe he was gone.

Fordyce remembered that Payan came to her house in the summer to ask for help after he bought a new lawnmower.

She said she does not think Payan uses a big lawnmower in Chicago that much, so she and her husband were happy to help him.

According to hospital records, Payan began working in the behavioral health office at Henry Ford Jackson Hospital in 2020 after graduating with a medical degree from Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2017.

The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office is currently performing an autopsy. Thus, the police still do not know what caused his death. The incident is also being investigated, M Live reported.

There are no words yet about funeral or memorial services for the Michigan doctor.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Body of Missing Doctor Found - From WLNS 6 News